Question of the Day

Did illegal voters swing any congressional races?

Kuwait kicks out Al Jazeera reportersKUWAIT CITY Kuwait shut down the Al Jazeera television bureau here yesterday, charging that the Arab world's most popular satellite TV network was "not objective.""The government informed me that the bureau is closed because Al Jazeera channel is not objective," Saad al-Enezi, the station's bureau chief, told the Associated Press. He said he was not given any detailed information about the decision.Mr. al-Enezi said he was not told if the closure was permanent.

Chechen rebels downRussian helicopterMOSCOW A Russian military helicopter was shot down by rebels in Chechnya, killing nine soldiers, Interfax news agency reported Sunday.The Mi-8 helicopter was shot down by a mobile rocket launcher apparently fired by rebels. Russia began a new offensive in Chechnya this weekend in retaliation for last month's seizure of a Moscow theater by Chechen militants in which more than 100 people died.Russian forces retreated from Chechnya after a 1994-96 war that left separatists in charge. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to return in 1999 after attacks on a neighboring region and several deadly apartment bombings blamed on the rebels.

Volcano rumblesto life in EcuadorQUITO, Ecuador The government declared a state of emergency in northeast Ecuador late yesterday after the El Reventador volcano rumbled back to life after lying dormant for 26 years, a spokesman said.About 1,500 residents in the immediate vicinity of the volcano were evacuated from their homes, while Quito's international airport, 110 miles away, was shut down as ash coated its runway.The cloud of dust generated by the explosion in the early hours of yesterday covers an area of 12,500 square miles in northern Ecuador, said Hugo Yepez, a geologist with the National Polytechnic School of Ecuador's Geophysics Institute.

Britain to announcetroop call-upLONDON Britain is about to call up thousands of reservists to prepare for war on Iraq and may make the announcement later today, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.The paper said that the heads of military units involved in the call-up had been summoned to a meeting today at the Ministry of Defense, and that Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon might announce the call-up during questions in Parliament later in the day.Military experts have long suggested there was a need to start calling on reserves in November if Britain is to be ready to join the United States in a war in Iraq in the first months of next year, when weather is best for fighting.The Telegraph said the initial call-up would include logistics staff, signals reservists and special forces, followed by up to 10,000 other troops.

Eight die, 48 hurtin Pakistan quakeISLAMABAD, Pakistan A moderate earthquake jolted northern Pakistan yesterday, killing eight persons and injuring 48, many of them critically, state-run media reported.The magnitude-4.5 quake hit near Gilgit, about 125 miles north of Islamabad, said Chaudhry Mehmood Arif, an official in the Seismic Center in the northwestern city of Peshawar.The dead were found in two villages, which appeared to have been most seriously affected.

U.S. declines invitationto talk with N. KoreaSEOUL A senior North Korean diplomat said the communist country was willing to negotiate with the United States about its newly disclosed nuclear weapons program, according to a news report yesterday."Everything will be negotiable," North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Han Song Ryol told the New York Times. "There must be a continuing dialogue. If both sides sit together, the matter can be resolved peacefully and quickly."U.S. officials said they have no plan to engage in talks with the North unless it scraps the nuclear program.